Five Reasons Why We Need a New Perspective on Consumption. Reimagining Sustainable Consumption
About 104 million children worldwide are underweight (as of 2010). Ajin kya
Source: wikimedia.org
Source: Sean Smith, CC 2.0
1. We live in a complex world where excess coexists with hunger.
500 million people worldwide are obese (as of 2008). Source:WHO, 2013
2. Digital media are rewiring our brains. We are “outsourcing our memories to Google.” We are accessing information and products “just in time” instead of planning for “just in case.”
Unsustainable consumption and mountains of waste.
Source: Ian Burt, CC 2.0
We are increasingly becoming highly individualistic, even narcissistic.
Increasing brand consciousness drives consumers’ choices.
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Source: Media use of American youngsters in the age of narcisssm, 2010
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According to the World Economic Forum, by 2030, 60% of the world’s population will be in the middleincome bracket.
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More people consuming more products, services, energy, and media is causing severe stress on the environment, including global warming, ecological disasters, and a water crisis.
“Ecology is the new opium of the masses, replacing religion.”
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Slavoj Žižek
Arguably one of the most important philosopher/commentators of the twenty-first century.
Source: CC 3.0 by Pablosecca, Wikimedia.org
3. There is a growing sense of ecological crisis.
Source: More with Less, 2012
4. Globalization is complicating matters.
While global consciousness is driving ecological awareness…
• People have greater awareness of ecological crises • This awareness drives misplaced consumer guilt Ajin kya
Irony of Globaliza tion
Globalization is also increasing the distance between cause and effect, produce and consumer.
• Longer supply chains lead to huge ecological costs • And also contribute to low consumptive consciousness
Local cultures often suffer under the juggernaut of globalization.
Consequently, today’s zeitgeist reflects a sense of the vulnerability of cultural identity and a rise in extremism.
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Source: Steve Evans, flickr.com, CC 2.0
5. Cultural practices are under threat
Questions to instigate change
NEW CHALLENGES
1.
What sustainability measures can bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots?
2.
How can we incentivize sustainability for hypermediated minds?
3. The notion that a consumer’s choice of product/service should be in the service of global justice and ecology is problematic. It burdens the consumer with unwarranted guilt and complicates decision making. How can we facilitate sustainable consumptive choices?
4.
How can democratic mechanisms be utilized to create systems that inherently favor sustainable ways of living, producing, and growing? What role do “commons� and open development play?
5.
How can globalization be reimagined in a way that facilitates cultural practices, expression in one’s own language, and creation of social rituals?
6. How can we reimagine taxes, aid, and valuations of businesses to take into account not just the monetary value of transactions but also the ecological, social, and cultural value?
Reimagine Consumption. Thank you.
Ajinkya Pawar
Ajin kya